The FIFA series is one of the best-selling game franchises of modern times, particularly in Europe where it trails just slightly behind the Call of Duty series in terms of popularity. Hundreds of thousands of gamers regularly play the game online and pit their skills against other players. For top-notch FIFA players however, there is a prize much better than simply owning their friends, and that is the FIFA Interactive World Cup.

For the first time ever, the interactive version and the real World Cup will take place a the same time, allowing gamers to get into all the fun and festivities that will come with Brazil 2014. Qualifying for the final in Rio wont be easy however, as there will be an estimated 2.5 million players between you and the top prize.

So how do you enter the competition? The FIWC 2014 comprises six separate one-month-long online qualification seasons. Players compete in the FIWC14 Online Game Mode of FIFA 14 (the game mode is only available on the PlayStation 3). At the end of each season, three players qualify for the Grand Final. Two qualify through the traditional online leaderboard and the third seat – in a new addition to the tournament – is handed to the player with the best win-loss ratio for the season. The new seat is called the ‘Community Qualifier’ and is an attempt to reward top-class players full of quality, but pressed for the quantity of time and games it takes to top the overall leaderboard.

Got all that? In total, 18 players will qualify for the finals along with the defending FIFA Interactive world champion, Bruce Grannec and the national champion from Brazil, as the host nation. If you do qualify however, you stand a chance of winning the grand prize – $20,000 and a trip to the FIFA Ballon D’Or Gala with a chance to meet all your footballing heroes. That’s a pretty nice reward so you better get practicing.